Superposed turret.



Patented May I3, 1902.

T. C. FENTON.

SUPEBPOSED TURRET.

Application filed May 24, 1901.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

1N0 Model.)

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N0. 699,75], Patented May l3, I902.

T. C. FENTON.

SUPERPOSED TURRET.

"Application filed May 24, 1901., (No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 2,

FIG. 2.

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Patented May I3, I902; T. C. l 'ENTUN. SUPERPUSED TUBRET.

(Application filed May 24, 1901.|

4 SheetsSheet 3.

(No Model.)

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N0. 699,,75l, I Patented May I3. 1902 'T. c. FENTON.

SUPERPOSED TURRET.

(Application filed May 24, 1901) 7 (No Model.) 4- Sheet5$heet 4 FIG. 7.

. I i illllllll W MJEI iii lllllll Iii THEODORE C. FENTON, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

SUPERPOSED TURRET.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 699,751, dated May 13, 1902.

Application filed May 24,1901. SerialNo. 61,762. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE C. FENTON, lieutenant United States Navy, residing at Washington,in the District of Columbia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Superposed Turrets; and I do here by declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improved means for mounting guns on board ship; and it consists, essentially, of two independently-operative superimppsed turrets, the lower turret carrying the heavier guns and the upper turret carrying lighter guns, whereby the guns in each turret may be trained independently, and yet the protection for the ammunitionhoist and mechanism for rotating both turrets may be secured without the necessity for duplication of parts that is experienced when the turrets are not superimposed.

My invention further consists in means for operating the two turrets together by a single motor or by motors adapted to rotate either one of the turrets.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

By mounting the two turrets one above the other the armor protection for the ammunition-supply and the gearing for turning the lower turret serve also as a protection for the like devices used with the upper turret, and thus a considerable saving in weight, of great importance aboard ship, is secured, while at the same time the two turrets may be operated independently, if desired, and the heavy guns may be trained upon one target and the lighter guns upon another target. I have i also made provision for training the two turand the parts of the shipbeneath the same. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan, the lower half of said figure showing a section along the line 2 of Fig. 1 and the upper half of said figure showing a section along the line 2 of Fig. 1, in both cases looking down. Fig. 3 represents a section through one-half of the turret along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows, the guns being shown in elevation. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are detail views, the last two showing the mechanism forrotating the upper turret and for throwing said mechanism out of engagement when desired; andFig. 7 represents a modification in which the upper turret turns on roller-bearings supported by the lower turret.

A represents the spar-deck of the vessel, and B, O, D, and E represent lower decks or platforms, the last-named, E, being the inner bottom of the ship. The structural details of the ships hull not being a part of my invention will not be further described.

F represents a cylinder or easemate of armor, into which the cone H of the lower turret H projects. The weight of this turret H rests on the cone-rollers I, mounted on the track f, supported by the frames F', and the lower turret is turned by means of the fixed rack F and the pinion U", as will be hereinafter described. The front of the turret H may be an inclined armor-plate H as shown in Fig. 1, or this armor-plate may be cut away to provide the sighting-hoods shown at H in Fig. 7, or it may be vertical throughout, if desired.- The steps H lead into the turret H at the opening 72, and It represents a grating put over an opening in the top of the turret.

Above the lower turret H the upper turret K is mounted. The upper turret is provided with sighting-hoods L. The front of the upper turret may be inclined, as shown at K or the armor may be vertical throughout. Ac-

upper guns are fired, thus affording a bearing in partial support against the tendency to shear off the upper end of the tube N.

Circular angle-irons k and ]L2 are secured to the upper and lower turrets, respectively, between which are vertical rollers M, which lessen friction in turning the upper turret in a Seaway. Suitable peep-holes h are provided in either or both of the turrets. The upper turretis secured, as by means of the circular brackets 7;, to the tube N, which maybe made of a single piece or of two or more concentric layers, two being shown in the drawings. In the device shown in Fig. 1 this tube is provided with a hydraulic piston N at its lower end which projects into a cylinder P, closed by a stuflingbox p and provided with a port. 1), fed with fluid-pressu re through an opening 1)", connected to any suitable hydraulic ram; but this hydraulic attachment may be omitted, if desired. The lower end of the tube N' is coned outward, as at N, and rests on the rollers 0, so that the entire weight of the upper turrets and the guns carried thereby normally rests on these rollers. The guns Z and Z are preferably mounted in pairs in the two turrets.

The tube N is provided with double tracks R for the ammunition-ears R and R which are supplied with ammunition from the holder Q, which is mounted on the circular platform N fast to the tube N. Bearings C may be provided for the tube N at one or more of the decks of the ship. The lower turret is supplied with amm unition by means ofthe tracks S and ammunition-wagons T.

The lower turret is turned by means of the pinion U meshing in the rack F", which pinion is carried on the shaft U and carries a worm-wheel U, driven by the worm to, connected to the armature-shaft of the electric motor IV, which worm-gearing is thrown into a different operation by means of any suitable clutch W. Instead of an electric motor and worm-gearing any suitable gearing may be adopted for rotating the lower turret. The upper turret is driven by means of the gearing shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, where X represents an electric motor swiveled ata: to the deck C, having its armature-shaft provided with a worm X, engaging the worm-wheel Y. This worm is thrown in and out of engage ment by means of the hand-lever X and link .0 connected to the journal-bearing X in which the outer end of the armature-shaft rotates. This hand-lever X is pivoted on the frame X fast to the body of the ship, and the hand-lever is held in the position for engaging the worm-gearing by means of the pin .11 and in the position for disengaging the worm-gearing by lifting out this pin a? and moving the hand-lever outward and then putting the pin back in place. Any other suitable device for throwing the worm-gearing in and out of action may be adopted, if desired. Since it is necessary to allow the worm-gearing to yield when excessive strains are imposed,the wellknown form of friction engagement shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is provided for the worm-wheels for the lower and upper turrets, respectively. In Fig. 4 the worm-wheel U'is provided with a conical recess, in which the cone-disk u is held in frictional engagement by means of the nut u. A somewhat-similar arrangement for allowing the worm-wheel of the upper turret to turn is shown in Fig. 5, in which the worm Y slips over the'cone-ring Y, which is forced by means of the bolts niscrewing into the flanges n and y. The upper part of the work-wheel Y bears against a shoulder at of the set collar N, fast on the tube N.

In the form of device shown in Fig. 7 instead of the bearing-rings h and I provide the roller-bearing I, and the weight of the upper turret is taken upon the top of the lower.

It may happen that the engines for rotating either one of the turrets may be out of order and it may become desirable to turn the two back, in which case cit-her one of the motors IV or X is thrown out of action and the locking-bolt V is put into its socket, as shown in Fig. 7, and the two turrets may be turned by the engine or engines provided for turning one of the turrets only. Any suitable device for locking the two turrets together may be provided.

I do not claim as a part of my invention any specific motor or gearing for turning either or both of the turrets, provided that they may be rotated either separately or conjointly.

It will be obvious that various modifications in the herein-described apparatus may be made which could be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The combination with a pair of turrets arranged one above the other, of independent means for rotating each turret separately, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a pair of turrets arranged one above the other, of independent means for rotatin each turretseparately, and means for locking said turrets together when desired, substantially as described.

The combination with a pair of turrets arranged one above the other, of independent means for rotating each turret separately, means for locking said turrets together when desired, and means for throwing the motive power of either turret out of action, substantially as described.

4. In a. vessel, the combination with a supportingplatform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret revolubly mounted above the lower turret, and independent means for rotating said upper turret independently of said lower turret, substantially as described.

5. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret revolubly mounted above the lower turret, and independent means for rotating said upper turret independently of said lower turret, with means for locking the two turrets together when desired, substantially as described.

(I: In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret revolubly mounted above the lower-turret, independent means for rotating said upper turret, with means for locking the two turrets together when desired, and means for throwing the mechanism for turning either turret out of action, substantially as described.

7. In a vessel, thecombination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and a rack and pinion, with means for rotating said pinion, for rotating ret, with means for locking the two turrets together when desired, substantially as described.

9. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and a rack and pinion with means for rotating said pinion, for rotating said turret, of an upper turret revolubly mounted above the lower turret, with means for locking the two turrets together when desired; and means'for throwing the mechanism for turning either turret out of action, substantially as described.

10. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, and means for rotating said tube, substantially as described.

11. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, means for rotating said tube, and means for locking the two turrets .together when desired, substantially as described.

12. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of .an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, means for rotating said tube, means for locking the two turrets together whendesired, and means for throwing the mechanism for turning either turret out of action, substantially as described.

13. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, apparatus for supplying ammunition to the upper turret mounted in said tube, andmeans for rotating said tube, substantially as described.

14. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting-platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret'mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, means for rotating said tube, apparatus for supplying ammunition to the upper turret mounted in said tube, and means for locking the two turrets together when desired, substantially as described.

15. In a vessel, the combination with asupporting platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, apparatus for supplying ammunition to the upper turret mounted in said tube, means for rotating said tube, means for locking the two turrets together when desired, and means for throwing out of action the mechanism for turning either turret, substantially as described.

16. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting -platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said too turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, av tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, antifriction-bear ings at the base of said tube for supporting the upper turret, and means for rotating said tube, substantially as described.

17. In a vessel, the combination with a supportingplatform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, antifriction-bearings at the base of said tube for supporting the upper turret,means for rotating said tube, and means forlocking the two turrets together when desired, substantially as described.

18. In a vessel, the combination with a supporting platform, a lower turret revolubly mounted thereon, and means forrotating said action the mechanism for turning either turret, substantially as described. to

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature turret, of an upper turret mounted above the lower turret, a tube rigidly connected to said upper turret and projecting downward through said lower turret, roller-bearings at in presence of two witnesses. the base of said tube for supporting the up- THEODORE C. FENTQN. per turret, means for rotating said tube, Witnesses: i

CLELAND DAVIS,

means for locking the two turrets together FREDERIC B. BAssETT, Jr.

when desired, and means for throwing out of 

